The regular season is in the books for NAIA lacrosse, and as to be expected the league made great strides in its fourth season as a sanctioned sport. By all accounts this was the most competitive season from top to bottom so far. Big time upsets blew up the national polls multiple times, and several younger programs emerged as nationally relevant squads this spring.
That said, the more things change the more they stay the same. Reinhardt (Ga.) continued its dominant ways, as its only blemish was a loss to Cumberlands in the first game of the season, and is very well positioned to win its third straight NAIA lacrosse national championship. Here is a run down of some of the conference storylines around the league…
Read more: Read our first-round preview of the NAIA Lacrosse tournament here.
Appalachian Athletic Conference
Cumberlands (12-4) started red hot, but struggled down the stretch with injuries and inconsistent play. It seems unfair to criticize a program that won the regular season conference title and went 12-4 in only its fourth season.
Reinhardt (13-1) bounced back from it’s early season loss to Cumberlands with a vengeance. During their current 12 game win streak they’ve won by an average of 16 goals. This includes five wins over ranked opponents, four wins over tournament bound teams, and a win over an NCAA DII program. Theirs is still a chasm between the upper and lower half of the conference, but the lower half did make some solid strides this season.
AAC All-Conference
A – Gavin Banks – SO – Reinhardt
A – Bennett Jarrett – SR – Reinhardt
A – Roderick Williams – SR – Tennesse Wesleyan
M – Zane Anderson – JR – Reinhardt
M – Ian Gonzalez – SR – Tennesse Wesleyan
M – Conner Mills – SR – Reinhardt
FOS – Kody Swann – SR – Cumberlands
LSM – Connor Bean – SO – Reinhardt
D – Nick DiFranco – SR – Cumberlands
D – Bryan Morgan – SR – Cumberlands
D – Jacob Samuels – SR – Reinhardt
D – Zach Pinson – JR – Reinhardt
G – Matt Webb – SO – Reinhardt
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The KCAC was as wide open as advertised with the regular season ending in a three way tie between Benedictine (10-4), Missouri Valley (11-3), and Ottawa (7-6). Benedictine obliterated Missouri Valley, 21-9, in the conference championship game sending them to their first national tournament. The Ravens emergence was sparked by a balanced attack and an aggressive defense. Ottawa was the biggest surprise in the conference, and Aidan Baker was nothing short of sensational en route to offensive player of the year honors.
KCAC All Conference
A – Jack Smith – SR – Missouri Valley
A – Pearson Willis – SR – Ottawa
A – Tyler French – SO – Saint Mary
M – Aidan Baker – SR – Ottawa
M – Ryan Barnes – SR – Missouri Valley
M – Tyler Wilkinson – JR – Missouri Valley
FOS – Tyler Wollenburg – SR – Missouri Valley
SSM – Ryan Alley – SR – Ottawa
LSM – Tyler Santini – JR – Benedictine
D – Ethan Novacek – SR – Benedictine
D – AJ Nardi – JR – Saint Mary
D – Christian Abeles – SR – Ottawa
G – Carson Davis – SR – Ottawa
Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference
Once again the WHAC was the deepest conference in the NAIA, evidenced by four teams heading to the national tournament. While the conference is extremely deep, it is yet to be seen if any are capable of challenging for the national championship.
Indiana Tech (15-2) is one of the hottest teams in the country, but even they struggled against Reinhardt, 15-7, earlier this season. They will rely heavily on defensive standouts Evan Schuster (GK), and Jordan Reyes (D) if they are going to make a run at the championship.
WHAC All-Conference
A – Sam Klinsky – SR – Aquinas
A – Chandler Peterson – SR – Indiana Tech
A – Cam Rogers – SR – Aquinas
M – Jake Gallaher – FR – Siena Heights
M – Harry Dyson – JR – Madonna
M – Ian Rush – SO – Madonna
FOS – Samuel Werner – JR – Aquinas
SSM – Dan Diederich – SR – Aquinas
LSM – Nathan Sahly – JR – Taylor
D – Matt Wagner – SO – Aquinas
D – Collin O’loughlin – SR – Lourdes
D – Jordan Reyes – JR – Indiana Tech
G – Evan Schuster – SO – Indiana Tech
Independent Conference
SCAD (7-4) and Keiser (8-6) split their regular season matchups before Keiser won, 11-10, a thriller over SCAD in the first Independent Conference Tournament Championship. Hunter East led the Keiser offense en route to offensive player of the year honors.
Independent All-Conference
A – Liam Thomas – FR – SCAD
A – Tyler Kalmowitz – SO – Keiser
A – Andy Coulter – SR – Missouri Baptist
M – Hunter East – SO – Keiser
M – Wolf Zachar – SO – SCAD
M – Sean Parmer – SO – SCAD
SSM – James Redpath – SR – Keiser
FOS – Noah Campbell – SO – Missouri Baptist
LSM – Justin Stone – SR – Keiser
D – Fisher Nuss – SO – Missouri Baptist
D – Channing Thomas – SR – Keiser
D – Jackson Bryan – SO – SCAD
G – Marco Olortegui – SO – Keiser
Sights and Sounds from Around NAIA Lacrosse
Lawerence Tech
MLAX | Here’s just a taste of what @LTULAX will be bringing to the field today in the WHAC Championship game against Indiana Tech! #bluedevilsdare #takeflight pic.twitter.com/zBlRkKQ99M
— LTU Athletics (@LTUAthletics) April 27, 2019
Benedictine
#8 Benedictine College (KS) Triple OT winner over (RV) Aquinas (12-11) thanks to #14 Trevor Svoboda (JR/Omaha, NE) goal @SportsCenter @notthefakeSVP #SCtop10 @ravenathletics #NAIAMLAX pic.twitter.com/wOfbudFKmQ
— Benedictine MLAX (@RavenMLAX) March 13, 2019
Cumberlands
Congrats to the @UCMensLAX on winning their first AAC Regular Season Championship going a perfect 5-0 in conference play. The Patriots will be the top-seed in the AAC Championship, which starts on April 26 in Waleska, GA #OneBigTeam pic.twitter.com/Yuj2xoUZny
— UC Athletics (@UC_Patriots) April 12, 2019
Ottawa
JUST IN: Congrats to the 2019 #KCACmlax Offensive Player of the Year, Aidan Baker of @BravesAthletics!
Full All-KCAC List: https://t.co/HhOmyNHevC
*All awards were voted on by KCAC Men’s Lacrosse head coaches pic.twitter.com/KJfI7l7YiZ— Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (@kcacsports) April 24, 2019
Keiser
It’s time to celebrate, as the No. 8 Seahawks prevail over No. 10 SCAD to win the inaugural A.I.I. Conference Tournament! Next up, the NAIA National Tournament… pic.twitter.com/38AzYuN6ml
— Keiser Lacrosse (@SeahawksLax) April 27, 2019
